Pizza Leon in Central Texas

Basic Information:

Pizza: Pizza Leon

Number of Locations: 2, both in central Texas
Location Reviewed: 509 E. Ben White Boulevard in Austin, TX
Website: https://mypizzaleon.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: Medium (12") pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $17.05 (pizza only; includes tax)
Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Pizza Leon has medium thickness.  The texture is somewhat on the hard side, and it is rather flavorless.  I don't care for this crust.  Score: 4/10

Sauce: On the other hand, the sauce appears in sufficient quantity, and it has pleasant tomatoey taste.  I really like this sauce.  Score: 10/10

Cheese: The cheese appears in adequate quantity, and it produces little grease.  Excellent!  Score: 9/10

Toppings: The sausage is a spicy Italian sausage, but it also has a pleasant pork flavor that does not simply taste like biting into a spice keg.  Likewise the pepperoni has a pleasant spiced park flavor.  Both toppings appear in high quantity.  Score: 10/10

Overall Taste: The crust really holds this pizza back, because everything else works together pretty well.  The overall taste is also on the salty side.  Score: 7.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The toppings dominate this pizza's appearance, which is probably a good thing.

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable: this location is a food truck with no dining area)

Customer Service: The service was prompt and friendly, but the window on the food truck did not open properly, making it hard to communicate and receive my pizza.

Monetary Value: The price is somewhat expensive, but the overall quality is quite high.  Thus, the value is decent.

The Final Judgment:

Pizza Leon may be the best food truck pizza I have ever had, even if their other location is a traditional location.  I would sanction coming here occasionally, even if you have to bring your own drink and eat it in your car.  Score: 82/100

Stefano's Pizza Express in Pharr, TX

Basic Information:

Pizza: Stefano's Pizza Express

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 500 North Jackson Road in Pharr, TX (just north of I-2, exit 144)
Website: https://stefanospizzaexpress.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: 16" pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $20.02 (pizza only, includes tax but not drink or tip)
Photos:

Summary Review: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Stefano's Pizza Express makes New York style pizza with a thin crust.  The crust is too crispy to be foldable.  This is not my favorite style of crust, but it is OK for what it is.  Score: 7/10

Sauce: This pizza is a little undersauced, but the sauce that does appear has a pleasant tomato taste. Score: 8/10

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of yummy cheese, and it does not produce much grease.  Fantastic!  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage looks like the horrible pellet-style sausage, but in fact it has decent flavor and spiciness.  The pepperoni has an excellent spiced pork flavor.  Both toppings appear in above average quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: None of the parts really overpower the others.  Everything works together pretty well to produce a well-balanced overall taste.  Score: 8.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The sausage looks bad even though it doesn't taste bad.  Otherwise, this pizza looks like a nice New York style pizza.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered take-out, but Stefano's Pizza Express has a pleasant casual dining atmosphere with comfortable tables and chairs.

Customer Service: The service is counter service, and it was quick and friendly on my visit.

Monetary Value: The price is pretty high, but you have to remember that this is a quality 16" pizza.  Thus, the value is not too bad, plus the counter service saves on the tip.

The Final Judgment:

There is nothing cheap or hasty about the pizza at Stefano's Pizza Express.  They offer a quality pizza in a quality dining environment at a fair price, and if I lived in Pharr I would take the express lane to come here regularly.  Score: 86/100

Bruno's Italian Kitchen in Beaumont, TX

Basic Information:

Pizza: Bruno's Italian Kitchen

Number of Locations: 1
Location Reviewed: 3199 Dowlen Road (between Folsom Dr. and Delaware St.)
Website: https://brunosik.com/
Date of Review Visit: February 2026
What I Ordered: small (12") meatlover's pizza (sausage, pepperoni, Canadian bacon, hamburger)
Price: $19.04 (includes drink and tax but not tip)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust on Bruno's Italian Kitchen's pizza is a fluffy crust.  It is not too thick, but it has a nice crispiness around the edge.  The crust has a fresh bready taste, and I like it.  Score: 9/10

Sauce: The pizza is undersauced, and the sauce that does exist is overspiced.  I could not taste the tomatoes in the sauce at all.  Score: 3/10

Cheese: This pizza has a thick yummy layer of cheese that does not produce much grease.  Magnifico!  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage is a slightly spicy Italian sausage; the flavor is satisfactory but not outstanding.  The Canadian bacon has a pleasant fresh ham taste.  The pepperoni is unremarkable.  The hamburger just sits there adding no flavor, which is what it does on most pizzas and why I never order hamburger as a stand-alone topping.  The toppings appear in satisfactory quantity.  Score: 7/10

Overall Taste: The sauce and sausage combine to give this pizza an overly spicy flavor.  I would like to taste some of the other ingredients more.  Score: 7.5/10

Pizza Appearance: This pizza has a very white appearance due to the cheese.

Dining Atmosphere: The cloth napkins add a touch of class, as does the pleasant Italian music playing in a fantastic dining room.

Customer Service: The server was friendly and attentive, but every action took awhile even though they weren't busy.

Monetary Value: The price seems expensive, but it is reasonable for a quality 12" meatlover's pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Bruno's offers a quality pizza in a quality dining atmosphere.  While not elite, it is competitive on the Beaumont pizza scene, and I would make it part of my regular pizza rotation if I lived in Beaumont.  Score: 80/100

Fazoli's

Basic Information:

Pizza: Fazoli's

Number of Locations: 200+ across 26 states
Location Reviewed: 3901 Liberty Highway in Anderson, SC (near the Liberty Highway WalMart)
Website: https://fazolis.com/
Date of Review Visit: January 2026
What I Ordered: whole (14") pepperoni pizza with Italian sausage added
Price: $17.97 (pizza only; includes tax)
Photos:

Summary Review: 1.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Fazoli's is a soft bready crust that has medium thickness.  They put a garlic glaze on their bread that gives the crust and the breadsticks that come with the pizza a strong garlic flavor.  (Aside: the breadsticks are in the bag in the first photo.)  I don't care for garlic, and therefore this is not my favorite crust.  Score: 5/10

Sauce: This pizza is undersauced.  The sauce has a pleasant but mild tomato flavor.  Score: 6/10

Cheese: This pizza is undercheesed; it has no flavor at all.  Score: 2/10

Toppings: The pepperoni comes in flavorless thin slices.  The sausage is sliced Johnsonville mild Italian sausage.  The sausage looks burnt, but it has a nice Italian flavor with a small amount of spiciness.  Score: 5/10

Overall Taste: I'm glad I added the Italian sausage, because that is the only appetizing thing on this pizza.  The garlic flavor in the crust dominates everything else.  Score: 4.5/10

Pizza Appearance: The thick ring of crust around the edge makes this pizza look like pizza you would find at a gas station or truck stop.  No, that's not a good thing.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered take-out, but they have a fast-food dining atmosphere with a few tables and chairs.

Customer Service: Fazoli's has counter service.  It was quick and friendly even though they were busy.

Monetary Value: You can get similar pizza for cheaper at Little Caesars.

The Final Judgment:

Fazoli's is better known for their pasta than their pizza.  I got my first taste of Fazoli's many years ago when I lived in Cincinnati.  I was unimpressed with Fazoli's pizza then, and I remain so today.  Score: 57/100

Richards Pizza in Butler County, Ohio

Basic Information:

Pizza: Richards Pizza

Number of Locations: 4, all in Butler County, OH
Location Reviewed: 20 American Way in Monroe, OH (on SR 63 just west of I-75, exit 29)
Website: https://richardspizza.com/
Date of Review Visit: October 2025
What I Ordered: small (8") pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $10 (pizza only; includes tax)
Photo:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: The crust at Richards Pizza is a thick, bready crust.  The texture is golden brown on the outside and chewy on the inside.  My pizza was baked to perfection.  Yum!  Score: 10/10

Sauce: This pizza has plenty of sauce, but the sauce is very overspiced.  My view is that tomato sauce should taste like tomatoes, and I could not taste the tomatoes at all.  This is not my style of sauce.  Score: 4/10

Cheese: This pizza features a thick layer of yummy cheese that I really enjoyed.  Score: 10/10

Toppings: Both toppings have a mildly seasoned Italian flavor; I was kind of expecting there to be a difference in taste between the sausage and pepperoni.  Both toppings appear with plenty of quantity. Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: The overspiced sauce dominates and therefore ruins the overall taste.  Score: 7/10

Pizza Appearance: Richards Pizza looks like a nice pan pizza, but the appearance is not dominated by the crust like so many other pan pizzas.

Dining Atmosphere: I ordered carry out; they have a nice casual dining area.

Customer Service: The server behind the counter was quick and attentive at taking my order.

Monetary Value: I only ordered an 8" pizza with no drink, but the price is pretty inexpensive for a pretty good pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Richards Pizza is a time-tested staple in Butler County, where I spent my first 28 years.  But for more tomato-tasting sauce, this pizza would be a real winner.  Score: 84/100

Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo in Northeast Ohio

Basic Information:

Pizza: Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo

Number of Locations: 16, all in northeast Ohio
Location Reviewed: 4161 Heritage Center Dr. in Copley, OH (just west of I-77, exit 137B)
Website: https://antoniospizza.net/
Date of Review Visit: October 2025
What I Ordered: Half-sheet pizza with pepperoni and sausage
Price: $27.99 (pizza only)
Photo:

Summary Review: 2.5 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo offers several types of crusts.  I chose the square pan crust, which is the thickest crust they offer for a large pizza.  The square crust is indeed thick, but it is also fairly hard and does not have much taste, bready or otherwise.  Maybe I should have chosen a different crust.  Score: 3/10

Sauce: This pizza is somewhat undersauced, but the sauce it does have has a yummy tomatoey taste.  Score: 7/10

Cheese: Antonio's Pizzeria LoSciavo uses 100% provolone cheese.  The cheese appears in sufficient quantity and does not produce much grease.  Therefore, the cheese is excellent.  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage appears in tiny tasteless ground bits; it is horrible.  The pepperoni has a slight spiced pork flavor.  Both toppings appear in average quantity.  Score: 6/10

Overall Taste: The overall taste is a little on the bland side.  This pizza also tastes quite salty, possibly due to the sausage.  Score: 6/10

Pizza Appearance: This pizza looks like a robust pizza that emphasizes quantity over quality.

Dining Atmosphere: (not applicable because this location is takeout only)

Customer Service: They had some computer problems that made my ordering process glacier slow, but the service was fine otherwise.

Monetary Value: The price seems very high for this quality of pizza.

The Final Judgment:

Normally I really like thick crust pizzas, but this pizza is not normal.  I would definitely order a different crust and some different toppings if I came here again.  Score: 67/100

Rocky Rococo Pizza

Basic Information:

Pizza: Rocky Rococo Pizza

Number of Locations: 31, mostly in Wisconsin
Location Reviewed: Fox River Mall Food Court in Appleton, WI
Website: https://rockyrococo.com/
Date of Review Visit: October 2025
What I Ordered: small pizza with Italian sausage and pepperoni
Price: $20.01 (pizza only)
Photos:

Summary Review: 4 stars (out of 5)

 

Detailed Review:

Crust: Rocky Rococo Pizza has a thick crust, but it is not quite your typical Chicago-style pan crust.  The crust is very bready; it has a soft texture with a crusty outer edge.  This crust is very good.  Score: 10/10

Sauce: The sauce is on the bitter side, and this pizza is slightly undersauced.  I like sweet sauces, so to my taste palette the sauce is the worst feature of this pizza.  Score: 7/10

Cheese: This pizza has plenty of yummy cheese, and it does not produce a lot of grease.  Excellent!  Score: 10/10

Toppings: The sausage is a sweet Italian sausage that comes in nice large chunks.  The pepperoni has a mild seasoned pork taste.  Both toppings appear in above average quantity.  Score: 9/10

Overall Taste: The bitter flavor from the sauce really hurts because everything else combines to make a tasty pizza.  Score: 8.5/10

Pizza Appearance: Rocky Rococo makes rectangular pizzas, so they are bigger than you might think for the size you order.  It looks like the robust pizza it is.

Dining Atmosphere: The location I visited is located in a standard mall food court, and therefore the dining atmosphere feels like a mall food court with lots of people, noise, and other dining options around.

Customer Service: This location has counter service.  The service was quick, but they were not busy when I came here at 5pm on a Monday.

Monetary Value: The price is a mall price, i.e. it is high relative to what you put in your mouth.  Note that the price I give above is only for the pizza; drinks would have been extra.

The Final Judgment:

Rocky Rococo is a remarkable regional reward among Wisconsin pizzas.  I'd rave over this restaurant, but I reserve my regards due to the wretched-to-me sauce and the rocket-high price.  Score: 84/100